Porting a Number to an Active CDMA Device

Maybe you decided to test drive Ting's services first, but now you're ready to take the plunge and you want to transfer a number from another carrier. The catch: the phone you want to use that number on is already active with a temporary Ting number. That's cool. In most cases, you can port that number to your active CDMA device without deactivating your temporary number first, and you can do this right from your account by following the simple steps below.

If you want to do the same thing but you have a GSM device, you'll need to get a new GSM X1 SIM card and port your number to that new SIM. Then you can replace the SIM card in your device.

2. Click on the CDMA device you want to port your number to or the pencil icon under edit for the desired device.

3. Click the edit/pencil icon next to your phone number.

4. Click Begin number port.

5. Fill in the billing information you have on file with your current carrier in the number transfer form and then click Done.

In some cases, you won't be able to port your number to your active device. If you get this error please get in touch so we can help

If there are no problems with porting your number, your number transfer will take 2-24 hours if it's a mobile phone number, and 5-7 days if it's a landline or VOIP number.

Once your port completes you'll get an email from us to let you know. This email will include a link to directions on how to get your device working. You can also find your device on the Ting device guide for activation help.

For now, sit back and relax!

Since your old number will still be active until the port completes there will be no indication in your Device Settings that a number is porting to that device (as there would be if you were porting to an inactive device). Once the port completes though, your ported number will show up as active on that device.

When you submit the port you will have a confirmation screen from Ting to advise that the port is underway. To see the status of the port you just need to go to Device Setting's on your account and on the left side of the Your Devices grid you'll see State and under this you will see Porting.

The first paragraph of this article describes an active Ting device with a temporary Ting number. Is a temporary number different from any other phone number given by Ting?

I'm about to add my grandmother to my Ting account with a new phone and a new number assigned by Ting. If she likes her cell phone, she may want to port her landline number to her Ting phone in the future, as this article describes. So, when I first activate her cell phone and get a brand-new number from Ting, will I need to check a box somewhere to tell Ting that the number may be only temporary?

The process is exactly the same and there's no such thing as a temporary number in our system. We just mention a "temporary" number because most customers will go through this process after getting a number only for a few days or weeks to test our services.

Ok, so I bought a GSM phone and TING could not activate it for me due to some Sprint issue. Took months to figure out and still nothing. Now I have a CDMA phone I would like to use my (decade old) phone number on and I am being told you CANNOT port from GSM to CDMA. Then I read this article which tells me to deactivate my (decade old) phone number and then activate it. Of course previously I accidentally deactivated my phone number and it took me a month to finally get it back. This is the reason I have been paying for months to keep a phone number active, now you say to deactivate it???
Either this article is blatantly FALSE OR the girl on the phone has no clue.
I am really afraid that if I deactivate it, I will not get it back and it will still be unusable on a CDMA network.

I was able to reply to your other forum post! As was stated, you can definitely port that number back to the CDMA network, all you need to do when you follow the activation steps is select "use an existing Ting number" and your number that is attached to the current GSM sim card will appear. If you need some guidance or direction in performing these steps, please give us a call, use the online chat service or send us an email and we will be happy to help.

I want to give ting a GSM test ride on a new, unlocked device (Nexus 5x) with a new number for a couple of weeks before porting my decades-old number (currently on Verizon) to it. (Several reasons for that, including really not wanting to lose that number, being on a relatively inexpensive legacy plan that I'll lose once I port out the number, wanting to get off my old dumb phone onto a smart phone but not at Verizon rates.)

My understanding is that I should ...
1. Buy 2 GSM SIMs
2. Activate the first one with a new number for my trial period
3. Once I'm satisfied, activate the 2nd SIM by porting my Verizon number to it

My confusion is with the details of step 3. When activating that 2nd SIM, do I select the inactive SIM (as opposed to the device) during the activation step, port the number to it, and then simply swap SIMs? Or is there something else I need to do? Then do I deactivate that first (trial run SIM) or does that magically go away?

Some detailed, step-by-step like you have above for the CDMA devices would help.

You have the steps down pat, it's pretty much as the exact same as activating a CDMA device, except you are activating the sim card rather than the phone itself. You will activate the new sim card (inactive one) and select "bring a number over from somewhere else" to port your Verizon number over. Once that number ports over, you will have 2 sim cards active... the trial sim card and the sim card with your Verizon number. At this point, you can then deactivate the trial run sim card, remove it, and put the Verizon phone number sim card in your phone.

So now I'm wondering why I ever have to complete the "Activate a Device" step, as instructed in the link included in your response. Even for the trial SIM, why can't I simply activate that SIM with a new number and then stick it in my phone?

Guess I'm not seeing how the device and SIM are linked. When you power on the phone, doesn't whichever SIM you've inserted just associate with whatever device it's placed in causing calls and texts to be routed to that device? Could I not actually keep both SIMs active and swap them back and forth in the same phone, depending on which number I wanted to use? Where does the MEID of the actual device (phone) come into the activation process?

You are absolutely correct. You could potentially keep both sim cards active and swap them interchangeably. Basically, the MEID number comes into play to verify whether or not the phone is compatible with Ting and if it's able to connect to our GSM network. Underneath where you enter in the MEID number there is an option to select "I have a GSM sim card, skip this step." You technically, you don't need to enter in the MEID number at all.

I had already confirmed that my phone works on Ting (it's a Nexus 5x, I entered the MEID before I even ordered a SIM). So even for my "trial SIM" instead of typing in the phone and SIM numbers, I can just go to my account / device settings where the SIM I bought shows up as inactive, click activate, and go through the "Activate a brand new number process." When finished, put the SIM in the phone and it's good to go (or the SIM can be in the phone already even before it was activated, doesn't matter).

The article implies it could take up to a week to port a land-line number to an active device, and if that red message appears (and is confirmed) that could be a week with the customer's device being inactive. Is that correct?

It would not be a week of the device being inactive.. it would just be about a week until the number ports. After the number has ported successfully, the phone will be inactive so you would not be able to use it until you activated it on our side of things.

Thanks for the response. However, if that is the case, why does Ting say "Please first deactivate this device, and then port your number …"? Does that not tell the customer to keep the device deactivated during the entire time from the port request to the port completion?

Ah I see.. my mistake. You will need to deactivate a Ting device if you are wanting to port a number over from somewhere else to the phone, so technically yes.. you would be out of service for 5-7 days if you are porting a number from somewhere else to a Ting device that has already been activated with a different number.